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Looking for Australia
In these fascinating essays, John Hirst delves into Australia s history, politics and society. He considers whether Curtin was indeed our greatest prime minister and tells the story of how Australia introduced the secret ballot and compulsory voting. He selects the best history books and explores the idea that Australian Rules has its origins in Aboriginal pastimes. He discusses the process of writing the official history for new citizens, reflects on Australia's past as a British dependency and its possible future as a republic. And he examines our convict legacy, its contribution to the national character, and our peculiar adoption of bushmen and bushrangers as popular heroes. This collection of writing is a companion and successor to the bestselling Sense & Nonsense in Australian History.
290 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2010
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About the author
John Hirst
38 books73 followersJohn Bradley Hirst, FASSA (9 July 1942 – 3 February 2016) was an Australian historian and social commentator. He taught at La Trobe University from 1968 until his retirement in 2006, edited Historical Studies—Australia's leading historical journal—from 1977 to 1980, and also served on the boards of Film Australia and the National Museum of Australia. He has been described as an "historian, public intellectual, and active citizen". He wrote widely on Australian history and society, publishing two well-received books about colonial New South Wales. Hirst also frequently published opinion pieces in the media.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 2, 2014
John Hirst appears to be very much part of the history/culture wars in Australia, but gives the impression that he is some kind of ‘independent historian’ with a bit of a larrikin thrown in. His contributions to the problem of just what might be expected in regard to being an Australian historian are discussed early on; and part of the problem lies in the very ‘youth’ of the nation, trying to come to terms with itself after only a couple of centuries in existence. (The question of the thousands of years of Aboriginal realities is almost a separate consideration, especially since Australians didn’t even allow them to be counted as Australians until the second half of the 20th century!) More significantly, this is occurring when the very concept of nation stated is universally under threat.
Traditionally, nations have relied only on written texts to identify ‘national’ concerns — and with Australia, its unique origins as a convict colony of the British empire, its more modern appropriation of American cultural values, and a more virulent and vibrant concept of multicultural assimilation of citizens from many other nations, there is some tension between all these conflicting ideas and with finding its own identity, especially with trade options being increasingly dominated by deals with the Asian nations in our region. Some traditionalists want to ensure that there is a comparatively straightforward narrative curve covering all the variants of modern Australian history. Hirst argues that this is not possible, nor relevant to Australia’s peculiar situation. His preferred method is to deal comparatively simply with different, but specific narrative arcs on specific subjects, and he provides this by writing historical essays which reflect this.
This book, then, is a collection of a number of Hirst’s essays, each of which is more or less confined to a particular subject peculiar to the Australian mystique. The effect overall is to provide lots of interesting, and sometimes controversial comments which are intended to overlap one another: something like numerous strands of an historical fabric, all providing different contributions to a presumed pattern that is difficult to decipher overall. Each of these strands appear to suggest a number of very unique elements characteristic of ‘Australia’, and anyone not familiar with all of these will find Hirst’s approach very beguiling and informative. In this regard Hirst is most successful when dealing with purely factual events, but in my opinion less so when he succumbs to personal re-evaluations and criticism. One does not necessarily need to agree with everything an author writes; and he does have the right to his opinions, anyway.
I can’t help feeling that Hirst is more concerned here with establishing ‘Australianness’ as an enigma. Perhaps he is right, at least insofar as today’s Australians in general ‘know’ who they are, but in reality are unable to pinpoint exactly what that means. Perhaps this is also the only true way to attempt to understand the present situation.
The final essay is entitled A Republican Manifesto and it was written in 1994, perhaps the earliest of all the essays collected here. By reissuing it here, and placing it at the end, Hirst is probably suggesting that unless and until Australia becomes a Republic, its ‘enigmatic’ nature will remain unresolved. I agree with him on this issue; but while there is still a very strong emotional tie with things British, Anglophiles in Australia (who represent the dominant culture) are constantly on the alert to preserve British values (to the extent of refusing to allow any criticism whatsoever of the British). As a result, despite the fact that to all extents and purposes, Australia is essentially an independent nation, we are still tied dependently to Mother England’s apron strings. It seems as though we want to believe that Australia is Britain’s great gift to the world. While that feeling remains, Australia cannot possibly learn to stand firmly on its own two feet and fully assert its own uniqueness and independence. Significant British and American values we value will not die as a result, but at least we will then have a better idea of who we are and what we stand for. As it stands now, we can’t even agree on getting rid of the Union Jack on our flag, which identifies us as a British colony, and come up with a universally accepted but uniquely Australian flag of our own.
Traditionally, nations have relied only on written texts to identify ‘national’ concerns — and with Australia, its unique origins as a convict colony of the British empire, its more modern appropriation of American cultural values, and a more virulent and vibrant concept of multicultural assimilation of citizens from many other nations, there is some tension between all these conflicting ideas and with finding its own identity, especially with trade options being increasingly dominated by deals with the Asian nations in our region. Some traditionalists want to ensure that there is a comparatively straightforward narrative curve covering all the variants of modern Australian history. Hirst argues that this is not possible, nor relevant to Australia’s peculiar situation. His preferred method is to deal comparatively simply with different, but specific narrative arcs on specific subjects, and he provides this by writing historical essays which reflect this.
This book, then, is a collection of a number of Hirst’s essays, each of which is more or less confined to a particular subject peculiar to the Australian mystique. The effect overall is to provide lots of interesting, and sometimes controversial comments which are intended to overlap one another: something like numerous strands of an historical fabric, all providing different contributions to a presumed pattern that is difficult to decipher overall. Each of these strands appear to suggest a number of very unique elements characteristic of ‘Australia’, and anyone not familiar with all of these will find Hirst’s approach very beguiling and informative. In this regard Hirst is most successful when dealing with purely factual events, but in my opinion less so when he succumbs to personal re-evaluations and criticism. One does not necessarily need to agree with everything an author writes; and he does have the right to his opinions, anyway.
I can’t help feeling that Hirst is more concerned here with establishing ‘Australianness’ as an enigma. Perhaps he is right, at least insofar as today’s Australians in general ‘know’ who they are, but in reality are unable to pinpoint exactly what that means. Perhaps this is also the only true way to attempt to understand the present situation.
The final essay is entitled A Republican Manifesto and it was written in 1994, perhaps the earliest of all the essays collected here. By reissuing it here, and placing it at the end, Hirst is probably suggesting that unless and until Australia becomes a Republic, its ‘enigmatic’ nature will remain unresolved. I agree with him on this issue; but while there is still a very strong emotional tie with things British, Anglophiles in Australia (who represent the dominant culture) are constantly on the alert to preserve British values (to the extent of refusing to allow any criticism whatsoever of the British). As a result, despite the fact that to all extents and purposes, Australia is essentially an independent nation, we are still tied dependently to Mother England’s apron strings. It seems as though we want to believe that Australia is Britain’s great gift to the world. While that feeling remains, Australia cannot possibly learn to stand firmly on its own two feet and fully assert its own uniqueness and independence. Significant British and American values we value will not die as a result, but at least we will then have a better idea of who we are and what we stand for. As it stands now, we can’t even agree on getting rid of the Union Jack on our flag, which identifies us as a British colony, and come up with a universally accepted but uniquely Australian flag of our own.
March 15, 2015
There is no doubt the author is a leading source for Australian history. However, the format of the book is a little frustrating as his essays often overlap or repeat throughout the book. I was left still yearning to learn more about the history of Australia as this book didn't quite satisfy that initial desire which drew me to it in the first place.
October 10, 2021
Pro gamer book! It gave me so much insight into the ANZACs! John Hirst is God!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2024
Some chapters/essays were far more enticing than the others. The first half really held my attention but about 45% through, I found myself struggling to push through and continue reading. Eventually, I ended up skipping multiple essays because they simply were not of interest to me. Oh well! I did learn quite a bit from a few of these essays though, especially as a prospective migrant to the country.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews